Stories we are following...

Bose sunglasses let the wearer listen to music using directional speakers, make calls and access augmented-reality experiences. Rima Sabina Aouf American audio brand Bose’s latest product is a pair of sunglasses that let the wearer listen to music, make calls and access augmented-reality experiences.Simply called Frames, the eyewear has a set of tiny, focused speakers in its arms that offer a listening experience similar to standard headphones. The wearable is an innovation on two fronts: first, it delivers personal audio without sitting in or directly over the ears, and second, it promises sound-based augmented-reality (AR) content. “Bose Frames are both revolutionary and practical,” said Bose Frames director Mehul Trivedi. “They look and act like classic...

The Miami architects who brought you The Vue have returned to Sarasota.That’s a good thing, though. by Harold Bubil Based in Coral Gables, Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates — call the firm NBWW or just “Nichols” — created one of the most controversial buildings in Sarasota history when it designed The Vue in 2014 for the Kolter Group. … For their part, NBWW’s design team of Igor Reyes, Stefany Roth and Carlos Vargas, working with Miami interior designer Bea Pila and Sarasota landscape architect David Young, have created renderings that show an elegant, unobtrusive and contemporary building that will continue the upward trajectory of Sarasota’s architectural standards. “The Vue was a totally different project from Epoch,” said Reyes. “We start with the site. Vue and...

Matt Risinger’s yearly gift buying guide for that special someone in your life. (That could even be you!) Make sure your loved ones get a look at this. And don’t forget, your partner, spouse, even your older kids and other significant family members and friends are probably going to love one or two of these … and if they don’t, well, they probably ought to have a few anyway. Always practical and always thoughtful, Matt serves up a number of tools and gadgets – each one part of your everyday carry or close surround. This year, he also offers up five go-to books. This is not Matt’s comprehensive list of building knowledge and business references (see link below for more), but they are two that will provide a stable foundation of building science, two...

Renewable energy could reliably power the grid at peak times using an eco-friendly and cost-effective storage solution designed by Swiss start-up Energy Vault. Rima Sabina Aouf Renewable energy could reliably power the grid at peak times using an eco-friendly and cost-effective storage solution designed by Swiss start-up Energy Vault.The technology, which works by moving concrete bricks around, has more longevity than batteries and more versatility than pumped hydroelectricity — two major current methods for storing energy. It offers a possible solution to one of the key problems of renewable energy sources like wind and solar, which need to be stored for later use, because they are produced intermittently. Energy Vault says the system delivers base load power cheaper than fossil...

The best hotels feel more like destinations unto themselves—or at the very least, they’re a whole lot more than a bed, an orchid, and four walls. In fact, there are so many hotels that do this so well that it can be tricky to narrow down the list. We homed in on the four ultimate destination hotels in the country. Goop picks NBWW designed Miami Beach Edition The best hotels feel more like destinations unto themselves—or at the very least, they’re a whole lot more than a bed, an orchid, and four walls. In fact, there are so many hotels that do this so well that it can be tricky to narrow down the list. Tricky, but not impossible. We homed in on the four ultimate destination hotels in the country. Between them, you’ll find naturalist-led immersion on the California coast, a camping...

Will Alsop, Robert Venturi, MJ Long and more – in 2018 we lost some hugely influential architects, designers and thinkers who transformed the places in which we live, work and play If there were a paradise, or a purgatory, or wherever else architects might go after they die, the atmosphere in its waiting room would be spiky this year. For 2018 has been a year of losses of strong, distinctive and argumentative minds. Those losses happen to run the gamut of ideas of what architecture can be. If these individuals had never lived, the built environment would be considerably less rambunctious, refined, historical, forward-looking, witty, public-spirited, entertaining and inspiring. One pair of opposites is Will Alsop, who used big, splashy paintings as a way to design big, splashy...

Editor-in-chief Kelsey Keith reflects on covering architecture, design, and local news in the current climate. By Kelsey Keith The past couple of months have been a period of great introspection at Curbed. We’ve debated how to best express our mission, talked with our writers, built decks (the slide kind!), presented to colleagues at Vox Media, tweaked how our network is structured, and taken stock of the amazing things we’ve accomplished in 2018. Add to that process a general uneasiness about the state of media—that’s for another columnist to unpack, but I’m sure you feel me—and more specific fretting over the state of architecture, and you’ve got a potent stew of purpose. First, we’ve been both focusing and expanding Curbed’s ethos over the past few years. Our focus: We’ve pioneered...

This year’s best design and urbanism books feature everything from impeccable modern interiors to fantastical cityscapes. By Curbed Staff Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy. This year’s best design and urbanism books feature impeccable modern interiors and fantastical cityscapes, educational toys and landscape utopias, plus playgrounds, textiles, subway tiles, and road trips. Beyond their stimulating content—several of which include the words and photos of Curbed contributors—these volumes all look stunning on a table. If they don’t end up tucked under a Christmas tree for a loved one, they each make a perfect excuse...

Plus, the world’s first 3D-printed concrete commercial housing project, a new ArchitectChats episode, and more design-tech stories from this week. By Ayda Ayoubi London-based designers Rowan Minkley and Robert Nicoll along with research scientist Greg Cooper have developed a biodegradable alternative to resin-based building materials such as low- and medium-density fiberboard. Called Chip[s] Board, the new material is made from non-food-grade industrial potato waste and is free of toxic chemicals and formaldehyde. “We are committed to … find new use for waste products as viable alternatives to toxic, unsustainable materials currently in use,” write Minkley and Nicoli on Minkley’s website. “We believe in creating products that enable companies and...

Behold, the top books from 2018 for young urbanists and their design-savvy parents. The top picture books from 2018 By Megan Barber Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy. Each year, a new crop of children’s books hits the shelves, promising to enrich the lives of both parents and the kids that read them. But every parent has at least a few books that they dread, either because the content or the pictures are boring, irritating, or just plain uninspired. Fortunately, 2018 delivered a rich class of illustrated books. We combed through them to find the best picture books centered on cities, architecture, and design. These...

San Francisco recently commissioned a landmark study to ascertain strategies to mitigate earthquake damage to buildings. Principal resilience analyst Danielle Mieler explains why architects and engineers in every city should read it. By Wanda Lau In season three of ArchitectChats, we are continuing our Dissecting the Code series, which highlights leaders and initiatives in the AEC profession that are ensuring the structures that we design meet the evolving demands of today’s world. Before the building community caught wind of the sinking and tilting of the Millennium Tower in San Francisco, many were acutely aware of the vulnerability of cities nationwide to earthquakes. From New England to the Pacific Northwest, and from the West to the South, nearly every region is at risk for...

In the post-digital age, architects will be designing in code and robots will crafting our buildings, says Owen Hopkins. Owen Hopkins We’ve now entered the post-digital age. Given you’re reading these words on a digital screen, this obviously doesn’t mean we’ve somehow moved beyond the digital. No, the post-digital describes the blurring of the digital and analogue worlds, when real experiences become interchangeable with virtual ones. We’re seeing this in AR, health and activity trackers, iBeacons, geofences and the internet of things, to name just the few most obvious examples. Apart from a few diversions into post-digital drawing, architecture however still exists outside this world. For the most part it remains stuck firmly in the digital age,...

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